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Douglas Mawson was an Australian Antarctic explorer, geologist, and academic. Counted among the most important leaders of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, Mawson was honored with a knighthood in 1914. Best remembered for his contribution to Australian geology, Mawson was featured on the Australian one-hundred-dollar note from 1984 to 1996.
Robyn Davidson is an Australian writer best known for her book Tracks, in which she wrote about her 2,700 km (1,700 miles) trek across the deserts of Western Australia using camels. As a teenager, she lived a bohemian life and has since traveled across the world. Her book Tracks won the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award in 1980.
John Batman was an Australian entrepreneur, grazier, and explorer. He is best remembered for his contribution in the Founding of Melbourne, which is now considered one of Australia's most important and largest cities. Numerous places in Australia have been named after John Batman.
Australian photographer Frank Hurley is best remembered for recording the Antarctic expedition of Sir Ernest Shackleton, known as Endurance. He also risked his life clicking pictures in both the World Wars. After running away from home at 13, he studied engineering but found his calling in photography.
Thomas Mitchell was a Scottish-born Australian explorer and surveyor of Southeastern Australia. He is best remembered for his service as the Surveyor-General of New South Wales from 1828 until his death on 5 October 1855. In 1839, Thomas Mitchell was knighted for his immense contribution to the surveying of Australia.
John Forrest was an Australian politician and explorer. He is best remembered for his service as the first premier of Western Australia from 1890 to 1901. He also served as the Treasurer of Australia on four occasions between 1905 and 1918. A prominent politician, John Forrest also served as the Minister for Defence from 1901 to 1903.
William Wentworth was an Australian explorer, pastoralist, newspaper editor, politician, lawyer, and author. He was one of the most powerful and wealthiest figures of New South Wales. William Wentworth is credited with founding the Australian Patriotic Association, which is regarded as the first political party in Australia.
Australian-born British explorer and ornithologist Hubert Wilkins is best remembered for pioneering the use of the submarine for polar exploration. While he initially studied photography and engineering, he later embarked on the world’s first transpolar airplane flight across the Arctic and the first over parts of Antarctica.
Hamilton Hume was an Australian explorer of the present-day Victoria and New South Wales. He is best remembered for his early exploration and expedition to find the Darling River, the third-longest river in Australia. Hamilton Hume is also remembered for his expedition along with William Hovell in 1824.
Edgeworth David was a Welsh Australian Antarctic explorer and geologist. A household name during his lifetime, David is best remembered for discovering the Hunter Valley, a region of New South Wales. He also led the first expedition to the South Magnetic Pole. Edgeworth David also played an important role in the First World War.
Alf Howard was an Australian educator, scientist, and explorer. He is best remembered for his expedition to Antarctica on board the RRS Discovery; he served as the hydrologist and chemist aboard the RRS Discovery. At the time of his death in 2010, Alf Howard was the lone surviving member of the expedition.
Phillip Law was an Australian explorer and scientist. He is best remembered for his service as the director of Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions from 1949 to 1966. Phillip Law was the recipient of several prestigious honors, such as the Founder's Gold Medal, the James Cook Medal, and the Centenary Medal.
